Gigabit January 2019

NORTH AMERICA
this experience lit up a fascination with
the “art of the possible” for Kline, which
he has brought to his team at Viacom.
“We aim to identify what’s possible for
the divisions we guide and influence –
whether it’s advertising, production,
research, distribution… it is important to
understand what they’re doing and deliver
the technology that works for them.”
At the time of its fruition in the 1970s,
Viacom was something of a “walled
garden”. “It was very segregated from
the rest of the world,” says Kline. “As
the world grew, digital connectivity
became more of an opportunity, like we
see today with apps and connected
devices – now, everywhere you go,
there is some kind of digital footprint.”
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY THROUGH TECH
As technology has developed, so too
have customer expectations across
the various demographics Viacom
caters for. “The millennial audience
really took a whole new swing at what
connectivity meant – they want what
they want when they want it. We have
to be able to deliver that,” he explains,
adding that nowadays on-demand
programming is an expectation rather
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EXECUTIVE PROFILE
David Kline
Having been at Viacom for eight years, David Kline provides
strategic leadership for the company’s technology infrastructure
and oversees Viacom’s Online Central Platform
Technology and Interactive Services, Content Creation
and Distribution Technology, Application Development
and Information Security and Compliance. During his
time at the company, Kline has led several successful initiatives
as well as developing and promoting a strong,
diverse team of talented people. Prior to working at
Viacom, Kline served as Executive Vice President of Technology
and CTO at Discovery Communications, having
also held senior technology roles at Rainbow Media
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